Life, Love, and Basketball
by lauralovesnaley
Summary: Nathan tutoring Haley? Read 1st entry to find out what crazy AU this scenario could happen in.
1. Intro

An idea I got from a fic request. I'm thinking this will be a chapter fic. In an AU, Nathan isn't the one who needs tutoring Haley is. Haley is not doing well in PE and needs a passing grade to keep her GPA intact. So, her teacher assigns her a tutor in order to help her get better and for extra credit.

Nathan is taking a course called Service and Humanity (I just made that one up!). He is assigned a major community service project in place of a final exam. He is then shown that he can be a PE tutor (Again, making it up but just work with me.).

Their worlds collide. How could a jock with absolutely zero care for school fall in love with a nerd with absolutely no interest or knowledge in sports and vice versa? We're about to find out.

That's my idea. I have a lot on my plate right now, but I'll try this one. This will be my first real long chapter fic. Hopefully, it will turn out well. Tell me what you think. All comments welcome, but please be nice.

xoxo

Laura

P.S. Thanks to the anonymous reviewer, Naley, for helping me come up with this idea. All credit goes to you!! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!


	2. One More Lap

Nathan Scott took one deep breath in; one breath of that glorious air was enough to make him forget the crappy day he was having. His serenity was soon interrupted when he heard footsteps.

"Ahem," he heard a soft but firm voice say.

"Yes."

"So, what are we supposed to do?"

"Huh?"

"You're my tutor remember?" That's when the crappiness of the day flooded back into Nathan's mind.

xFlashbackx

Ding, Ding, Ding. The bell rang, signaling the end of Nathan's rights and responsibilities class. Nathan wasn't much for giving back, but he signed up for this class because it was supposed to be an easy A. Apparently not; he was failing.

"Mr. Scott, may I speak to you?" Mr. Anders, the teacher, said. Nathan nonchalantly walked up to the front of the room. He always had a way to squeak out of whatever trouble he may have gotten himself in. Hopefully, this time would be no different.

"Nathan, as I'm sure you're aware, you are failing this class," Mr. Anders began.

"Yes," Nathan mumbled.

"Never, in my ten years of teaching this class, have I had a student fail, and you're coming dangerously close. In order to prevent this, I have an offer."

"I'm listening."

"There is a fine student, straight A's in fact, who is in need of a little help. This student seems to be struggling in P.E. It could cause a blemish in this pupil's 4.0 GPA. Since P.E. is right up your alley, I thought you might like to tutor. If you take me up on this and do a good job, I am willing to raise your grade from an F to a C in this project alone. Not counting the other assignments which I'm sure you'll complete. So, what do you say?" Nathan thought about it for a moment. This wasn't his favorite thing in the world, but he really couldn't afford to fail.

"What the hell?" Nathan said. "Sign me up."

"Normally, I don't tolerate the word hell in my classroom, but since I didn't expect you to actually you through with this, I'll let it go. But there is a condition. You've got to meet your tutee today after school in the gym."

"Gotcha," Nathan said with a smirk and left. He may have been smirking on the outside, but Nathan was anything but confident. He was a straight D/F student. He wasn't supposed to be a tutor. It just goes against nature. After school was going to be interesting.

xEndFlashbackx

Looking at his pupil, a petite, honey-blonde girl with curves to die for, Nathan's assumptions were confirmed. Today was definitely going to be interesting.

"Hey, I'm Haley James," Haley said.

"Nathan Scott," Nathan introduced himself rather confidently. Haley rolled her eyes at this. So, her tutor appeared to be an arrogant jock.

"Hey, let's get something straight. This is not my idea of a good time. And since I'm assuming you need this grade, you will do what I say. And right now, I'm telling you to never disrespect me like that again," Nathan said firmly.

"Okay," Haley said sheepishly. She had never been talked to like that before. Normally, she'd beat any guy's butt who talked to her like that. But she really needed this grade so she decided to bite her tongue on this one.

"So, what are we gonna start with?" Haley asked, hoping it was something easy.

"Well first, you're going to change into your gym clothes," Nathan began.

"Hey, these are my gym clothes," Haley interrupted.

"No, they're not. Rule number two, jeans are never appropriate gym clothes. Tell you what, there's a box of old booster club clothes over there. Why don't you get your gym shorts from there?" Nathan suggested.

"Or I could just wear what I have for today," Haley hopefully suggested.

"No. I told you the rules. They don't start when you want them to; they start today. Now, hurry up and get changed, or I'll make you run more than you're already going to." At this rate, it looked like Haley would be running the whole time.

"Great," Haley thought, "I've got a jerk for a tutor. Perfect!!"

"One more lap," Nathan commanded Haley for what seemed like the 500th time.

"How many more?" Haley asked out of breath, stopping and not even caring that she wasn't doing what Nathan said. Damnit, she was tired.

"As many as I say. NOW GO!!" Nathan roughly yelled.

"No. You keep saying one more, but it never ends. And plus, it's not like all we do in P.E. is run anyways."

"One, if I say something you do it. I'm the teacher; you're the student. Two, you are totally out of shape; I hardly call what you're doing running. And three, yes, not everything you do in P.E. is running. But everything you do in P.E. has running in it. So, if you can't run you're screwed. Now that we've discovered meaning in everything, how about you shut your mouth and do what I say?" Nathan bellowed.

"Fine!!" Haley yelled and began running. For the rest of practice, all noise that could be heard were Haley's footsteps and Nathan telling her to run one more lap. Nathan didn't want to change it up because that would require more talking.

Before, Haley had a problem with all of the running she was doing. But now, she was actually kind of glad she was doing it. She didn't have to hear Nathan's annoying voice. When she was running, she moved consistently away from Nathan. And, it was impersonal. Maybe today was a disaster, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Haley kept trying to convince herself.

XXXXX

"Hey Luke," Haley greeted her friend as she entered Karen's Café after her first "tutoring session" with Nathan.

"Hey buddy. What's up?"

"Oh, I just had my first practice with Nathan, and it sucked."

"I still can't believe you're so close to flunking P.E."

"Shut up. Not all of us in Tree Hill can have Scott genes that can make us good athletes like Nathan and you."

"Well, Dan is our father, so you don't know. Pretty much the whole town could be a Scott," Lucas pointed out.

"Good point," Haley said, and with a high five, was off to the back of the café to put on her apron and begin her shift.

"Hey Karen," Haley greeted as she was putting her apron on.

"Oh hey Haley. How was your day?"

"Oh your know, it came; it went."

"Sounds like it was really memorable," Karen joked.

"Yeah. Oh, I better get going. Don't want to leave the customers waiting," Haley said and took her notepad to take orders.

XXXXX

"You're late," Nathan said to Haley as she dashed into the gym.

"I know. We got backed up at the café, and I got here as quick as I could."

"That still doesn't excuse tardiness, but at least you ran," Nathan said.

"I'm sorry," Haley replied.

"Yeah. Now, let's get to work. Here's the way the sessions are going to run from now on. You are going to do two laps around the track at the beginning of each practice. If you can do those in five minutes, the practice will center around an actual sport. If you can't, it's running pushups, sit-ups, and other stuff like that. Got it?"

"I don't really like that. Can't we make a better deal?" Haley whined.

"I didn't ask if you like it. I asked if you got it. Now, do you??"

"Yeah, Jesus!"

"Well the, get going. Two laps, chop chop." Haley inwardly groaned and reluctantly began running. Haley pushed herself; she really did. But she just wasn't in good enough shape to make it. She got a time of six minutes, not bad but still not the desired five minutes.

For the rest of this session, Haley ran and ran and did sit-ups and ran and did pushups and ran. By the end of it all, Haley was bored and tired out of her mind. Nathan, meanwhile, sat on the side, read a magazine, listened to his IPod, and barked instructions at Haley. She may be mad, but this was as easy as his community service was going to get.

"Alright, that's enough," Nathan said as Haley finished what seemed like her millionth lap.

"Finally," Haley breathed out. "Now, can I go?"

"Yeah, yeah. But try to practice before our next session so we won't have to run as much," Nathan quipped.

"Fine. Oh and Nathan, is there anything you want me to tell the brother you'd like to forget?" Haley said. Nathan was stunned. Who was this girl and how in the hell did he know Lucas? He was about to find out.

XXXXX

There's my first chapter. Sorry it took me so long to come up with. I've had a bit of writer's block, but hopefully this chapter satisfies. What do you think?


	3. The Practice That Wasn't a Practice

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN CHARACTERS, PLOTS, LINES, ETC. FROM ONE TREE HILL. I JUST WRITE ABOUT IT!!**

"Wh-what?" Nathan said in total shock.

"I said, is there anything you want me to tell your brother, you know the one you ignore and pretend doesn't exist?"

"Well, how would you know bastard spawn?" Nathan asked, gaining some of his confidence back.

"Well, he's my best friend. Oh, but you didn't know that, did you?" Haley asked, more confidently than Nathan. She was in control of this situation, and there was not a dang thing Nathan could do.

"I guess I'll need to tutor you in more than P.E." Nathan replied cooly.

"You're right. You need to teach me how to be an ass. Otherwise, I'll never be able to put up with you. And seeing as you have that skill down to an art, it shouldn't be too hard."

"You know what, I'm doing you a favor. So maybe instead of complaining, you should suck it up and appreciate it."

"Appreciate what? The fact that you show up and torture me simply to save your own butt from failing your class. Sorry, no. You see, I'm doing you as much of a favor as you're doing me. So, you really shouldn't chase me away."

"You're a bitch, you know that?"

"Yeah, but I don't deny it. You act like you're so great. But in reality, you're an ass, and you'll never admit it. At least, I'm not in denial."

"You know what? Leave, and don't come back until you have an apology for me."

"Great, I never have to come back," Haley said and stormed out of the gym.

XXXXX

_Two Days Later_

Nathan had been doing a lot of thinking about what he had said. He really had come off a lot harsher than he wanted to. He really needed to stick through this for a grade. And degrading his tutee the way he did was not the way to do this.

Haley, meanwhile, had been doing some thinking of her own. She realized that she was being a bit too stubborn. And even if the practices sucked, she'd just have to stick it out so she would get the grade she desperately needed.

Today was going to be their first practice since the blowout, and both had prepared things to say to the other. Haley and Nathan both were anxious so they both showed up fifteen minutes early. Yet, they arrived at the same time.

"Oh," Haley said when she saw Nathan walk into the gym at the same time as her. Nathan was just as shocked as she was. He got here early so that he could go through his speech a few times more. Apparently, they both had the same thought.

"Listen," they both said in unison. Neither knew who was supposed to talk first. So, for a while, there was just silence.

"Okay, I'll go first," Haley said, breaking the silence. "Nathan, I'm sorry for getting so upset and yelling at you. I need this grade so I'll stop being so annoying."

"Yeah and I'm sorry about being such a hard ass. Running is important, but I promise it won't be the only thing we do in practice from now on. Okay?"

"Fine with me."

"Good. And Haley?"

"Yeah."

"Don't think this makes us best friends. Just because we agreed to tolerate each other doesn't mean we're different people. You're still you, and I'm still me. Let's keep that straight."

"Deal," Haley said, and they shook on it.

"Okay, now go get changed," Nathan said.

"Alright," Haley said and went into the locker room to change. Once inside, she decided that she should call Lucas to tell him about the events that just occurred.

"Hello," Lucas said when he picked up the phone.

"Luke."

"Haley, what are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"

"Technically, yes. But I'm in the girls' locker room so I figured I'd give you a call."

"Okay, what's up?"

"Well, I felt really bad about what happened at the last session so I came early to work out an apology. The only problem was that Nathan came early to. Long story short, we both ended up apologizing and agreed to be professional but not like friends or anything. But Luke it was so weird. I've never seen Nathan come that close to being nice."

"Wow. Umm, Haley that's great. But I should warn you that Nathan is an ass. He may act nice, but in the end, once a jerk always a jerk."

"Luke, you do know I go to the same school as you, right? I know Nathan's mean and a jerk. I'm just saying that, though few and far between, maybe he can have his good moments too."

"I'm just warning you, be careful."

"I will. Listen, I have to go get dressed. Nathan will chew me out if I am late."

"Okay. See ya."

"Bye, Luke."

Haley then proceeded to change into her gym clothes. She wasn't particularly excited about the practice she was about to endure, but she found she wasn't dreading it as much a she had in the past. Now, she was ready to face Nathan for the first time since their kind of, sort of make up.

"Hey, you ready?" Nathan asked Haley as she emerged in the gym. Nathan was a little curious as to why Haley had taken so long, but he decided not to press the issue.

"Yep. So, what are we going to do?" Haley asked curiously. She sincerely hoped that their make up had some effect on Nathan and that he would go easier on her. She didn't know if she could take another session of all running, all the time.

"Well, I was thinking today we could switch it up, maybe do something a little more exciting, like basketball."

"That sounds fantastic, but I'm warning you, I probably won't be the next Jordan Michaels or whatever."

"Oh my God, it's Michael Jordan, Haley, Michael Jordan."

"Whatever. All I'm saying is that I can't make any dunk slams, free shots, or whatever they're called."

"Slam dunks and free throws. I can't believe that Tree Hill's resident tutor girl knows absolutely nothing about basketball. How long have you lived in Tree Hill?"

"My whole life," Haley said.

"Then, how can you know nothing about basketball? I mean practically everywhere you go in Tree Hill, there's something about Ravens' Basketball. And you know nothing? Jesus Haley, do you live in a cave or something?" Nathan said.

"What's your problem? No, I don't live in a cave. Is it that hard to believe that I live in this tiny, basketball-crazed town and, oh my God, don't know a damn thing about basketball? Or are you just a bigger jerk that likes to magnify the things that others aren't?" Haley spat.

"Haley, I…I'm sorry," Nathan muttered, realizing the harshness of the words he had just said to Haley.

"You know what, save your lame ass excuse for someone who cares. Tell you what? I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place, figure this mess out on my own. I don't care if I end up failing," Haley lied. "Hell, I don't care if you fail, but I am done with this nonsense," Haley finished and stormed off. The truth was that Haley did care about failing, but she just couldn't put up with Nathan's crap anymore.

Nathan, meanwhile, kept inwardly cursing himself. He couldn't believe what an idiot he was. The practice hadn't even been a practice, and he still managed to screw things up. He really needed this grade to stay on the team. He couldn't afford to fail such an easy class as Rights and Responsibilities. He needed basketball; he needed to pass. He needed to please his father. And now he needed to suck up his rather large ego and figure out some way to get Haley to forgive him and give his teacher a good report on his tutoring. Damn, he was screwed.

XXXXX

Did you expect that? Sorry for all the twists and turns. What can I say, I'm a drama whore. Thanks for reading. Please rate, review, and watch for the next chapter.

xoxo,

Laura


	4. AN: Writer's Block

IMPORTANT AN:

IMPORTANT AN:

I am so sorry for my lack of writing as of late. I've just come out of a major writer's block. During this time, I realized that I'm just not meant for this story. Maybe later I could take it somewhere. But I just don't see that happening now. So, this story is on hiatus for that reason. But I do have some great little stories in the works. Here's a little overview:

The Wedding Wall: This is an nhlovenest entry and is about if Nathan and Haley remade their wedding wall in season 3. It's a ton of flashback work. I really am getting to explore that area of my writing.

Two Weeks Prior: This was a request made in my story requests post. A story filling in all the gaps left from Jamie's birth to the two weeks later scene. It starts when Jamie's two days old and I am planning on having it go up to that scene two weeks later. It's gonna be really long though. I've only done one day and it's 1500 words. It might be like a two or three shot.

Thank Goodness for the Webcam: a post season 5 smut piece where Nathan is away at camp and Haley buys Nathan a webcam. It's gonna be smut city.

Another Chapter for Take the Lead: I don't want to give too much away. But it's along the lines of what occurred in Steaming Up the Sauna. Use your imagination.

That's all I'm working on. If you have any lovely suggestions for me to write, do not hesitate to post them in my story requests area. I'm always opened to new ideas. Well, thanks for listening to me. I'm gone now. Peace out all!!

xoxo,

Laura


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